Located at the lower level of the College Avenue Student Center, Room 115 (126 College Avenue), the Rutgers Food Pantry provides a variety of food resources including canned products, dry goods, and fresh produce. The Food Pantry aims to fight food insecurity to ensure every student has the opportunity to supplement their nutritional needs.
Photo credit: Rutgers University Basic Needs Facebook
Accessible Food Pantry Methods
The responsibilities of many college students go beyond academics, making it difficult for them to get to the food pantry or have enough time between classes to get necessary supplies for the week.
To combat this, Knight’s Pantry Basic Needs Box and Mobile Pantries were created to provide more convenient support for Rutgers students. The Knight’s Pantry Basic Needs Box is a brief online order of 15 non-perishable items. Students can schedule a day and time that fits into their schedule to pick up their order at the New Brunswick location.
For those who don’t regularly visit the College Avenue campus, the Mobile Pantry can be a helpful resource. The Mobile Pantry travels to the other Rutgers-New Brunswick campuses with a smaller selection of goods, but certain items can be requested beforehand. They also have a location in the downtown New Brunswick area for students who live off-campus.
PantrySoft
The PantrySoft website can be used to schedule appointments for all three services (Food Pantry, Mobile Pantry, and scheduling pick-up dates for the Knight’s Pantry Basic Needs Box). The Mobile Food Pantry requires that appointments be made before 5pm the day before. Walk–ins are available for the Mobile Food Pantry at any time, while the College Avenue Food Pantry location has a designated time for walk-ins between 4pm-5pm or 4pm-7pm. Summer operations can impact the Mobile and regular Food Pantry hours of operation, so be sure to check their website for up-to-date information.
Ways to Advocate
Rutgers students can volunteer, donate, and run food drives to help the community. Volunteer opportunities can be found on RCommunity via the Rutgers Basic Needs page. Donations are verified through a form and students can also place orders through Amazon to ship directly to the Basic Needs office at 39 Union Street on the College Avenue campus. Student organizations, friends, and individual Rutgers students can host food drives to garner support for increasing food resources.
During Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week which will take place in November, Rutgers will host multiple events across the New Brunswick campuses to create a larger discussion on food insecurity. In the past, students volunteered at food banks and Rutgers Gardens during the week. Check their website for event dates.
Photo credit: Rutgers Student Pantry Facebook
To learn more about how you can contribute, email basicneeds@echo.rutgers.edu.
Written by Meghana Thimmaraju – KnightBook Student Editor